


The Last One Standing

by Greenninjagal



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, Alternate Universe - Serial Killers, Breaking the Law, Investigation, Kevin and Jean deserve so much more, Kidnapping, M/M, Neil didn't sign up for this but, Only one Twin survived, Reporter!Neil, Riko pretends to be good at his job, he's not sorry, identity stealing, murders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-15 05:14:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16056266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenninjagal/pseuds/Greenninjagal
Summary: “Two different killers,” Jean echoed, “Two serial killers in one state? You know how uncommon that is, right?”“It’s preposterous,” Riko tutted. “What would two serial killers be doing here?”Kevin didn’t like the answer his mind came to. Riko was the lead detective, and he didn’t like being wrong, so Kevin tried not to sound like he was correcting him, “Trying to outdo each other?”





	1. Welcome to the Murder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jungle321jungle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jungle321jungle/gifts).



> Happy Birthday Jaz! Have some murder!

The story ran for a total of three days, but the rumors ran around for years. It was almost as bad.

See, the media was bias and short sighted. It turned the story of a car crash into a documentary on drinking and driving. They delighted in standing in front of the reruns, with their microphones and talk about the same things over and over. “Look,” They said, “Don’t drink and drive or you’ll end up like this.”

Unrecognizable blobs of burned flesh with clumps of CO2 still clinging to the masses because someone had tried to put out the gasoline fire with a fire extinguisher.. The skin melted and the bones stuck out on joins that shouldn’t have been there. Turned out blood was flammable, and the gasoline smell stained the air for days.

At first they played the video all the way through, and they caught the part where the tiny blond was sobbing, bleeding, fighting the first responders to get to the car even though there was nothing left to save of it. But as the days wore on, the media stopped running the story, people stopped asking about that poor kid. After three days, they forgot about it all together.

But the rumors were still there, just on the edge of their consciousness. The scars didn’t fade, the looks didn’t stop. Time dragged on, years later and people had grown used to avoiding the kid that had nearly died, who wished he had died, who stopped speaking to most people.

“Aaron,” Nicky said quietly, “It’s raining.”

Years hadn’t taken away his blond hair, hadn’t removed the scar from his face, hadn’t made the broken promise in his chest feel any lighter. He ran the fingers over the headstone, tracing the name that felt familiar and not at the same time.

“Aaron,” Nicky said again. He hated the graveyard, hated the flowers they brought, hated the outside. But it was the five anniversary and everyone else had forgotten about the crash except them.

The pattering the rain soaked through his jacket, drenching him to the core. Nicky wasn’t much better he knew, but his cousin would never leave him here alone. It would be too easy for him to lose a second cousin in the mist of the afternoon sprinkle.

The boy called Aaron stood up finally, and tore his gaze from the headstone violently. “Let’s go.”

“Are you sure?” Nicky said, as if he hadn’t just been silently begging to leave. Water dripped down his forehead from the curls plastered there. “This might be the last time to see them for a while. Palmetto is pretty far away--”

“I know,” He said, “Good Riddance.”

“You don’t mean that.”

He didn’t have the words to tell Nicky that he hoped Tilda was burning in the deepest pit of hell. So he settled for hoping that the body they buried under the name Andrew was resting easy. How stupid it was, how easy it was.

The plan would have worked, should have worked but Andrew hadn’t planned on Tilda taking Aaron with them. He hadn’t planned on one of their seatbelts being faulty, and he certainly didn’t plan on one of them dying.

His mistake.

His first kills.

***

“I don’t know what to make of this,” Jean said.

“This is your job, Jean,” Riko snarled, “If you are incapable of doing it, I’ll find someone to replace you right now.”

Jean wilted at the accusation, but he put on a brave face for Kevin and his partner, Riko. They had been friends since they were kids, and when Riko had insisted on becoming a detective, he had dragged Kevin and Jean along with him to make the “perfect” team. Kevin wouldn’t mind so much if they could go back to petty crimes and not full scale brutal murders.

“These deaths are inconsistent.” Jean said, “The first victim-- Renee Walker--”

“That’s the girl who was in Witness Protection as an asset for the gang trial next month,” Kevin interrupted, “The one we found drowned in the river.”

Kevin had been there when they fished her out, holding off the couple of kids that had found her. He still felt unimaginable rage for the asshole who had done this and left her body in a park for kids to find.

“Yes,” Jean nodded flipping through the autopsy report, “And while that’s where she was found, drowning wasn’t her cause of death. There was evidence of someone cauterizing knife cuts along her stomach. Someone tortured her until she died, and then just dumped her body.” He pointed at the pictures on the table, “This victim was cut apart and all forms of possible identification destroyed. Fingerprints, dental records, even a chunk of flesh was carved out where I suspect there was a tattoo at one point.”

Kevin frowned. He hadn’t been around to survey that one, but Riko had returned with at least thirteen dismembered limbs and twice as many bug bites from the wooden area they were spread throughout.

“The trend continues too,” Jean said before either Kevin or Riko could speak out. “Seth Gordon knifed several times, loses a lot of blood, and then set on fire in an abandoned barn where a neighbor insisted they heard nothing but called when they noticed the fire. Another body spread across a junk car lot with all forms of recognition desecrated. Why would he change his motive between the two?”

“He's bipolar.” Riko said, with very little room to doubt him. “Or those victims were more personal to the unsub. They knew who he was and he wanted to be sure no one would be able to tell.”

Kevin was silent as he looked at the pictures of the four victims over the past month and a half. He traced a hand over the border and then looked up. “These are completely different M.O.’s….What if we are dealing with two different killers?”

“Two different killers,” Jean echoed, “Two serial killers in one state? You know how uncommon that is, right?”

“It’s preposterous,” Riko tutted. “What would two serial killers be doing here?”

Kevin didn’t like the answer his mind came to. Riko was the lead detective, and he didn’t like being wrong, so Kevin tried not to sound like he was correcting him, “Trying to outdo each other?”

***

DoctorDoctor  
[Your art is still terrible]

FoxTails  
[Sorry, presentation isn’t my focus]

DoctorDoctor  
[Have you considered not being awful?]

FoxTails  
[Too preoccupied to care]

DoctorDoctor  
[interesting]

DoctorDoctor  
[Want to play a game?]

***

“...Police have informed us, that we are dealing with two different killers in the city. They urge residents to be on the lookout and to report any suspicious behavior immediately to the tip hotline they have set up as seen below.--”

“Who the fuck told them that?” Kevin snapped, twisting in the middle of his pace. “We weren’t ready to release that information yet! Do we even have a tip hotline?!”

“Just wait,” Jean sighed, “It gets better.”

Kevin doubted that, but he turned to face the TV as the reporter continued. Her voice spoke on, but the screen shifted to a photo of a handwritten letter.

“--And we have been contacted by one of the killers who identifies himself as Cigarette. As seen from this letter, his threats are very real, and very violent--”

“A letter?!” Kevin screeched. He gripped his chest as if he was attempting to stave off a heart attack. “Why weren’t we contacted first?”

Riko crushed his coffee cup in his hand, but he didn’t seem bothered when the scalding liquid scorched his knuckles. “Get that Reporter’s name.” Kevin flinched at his tone. “I want to know everything about her, and why the fuck he contacted her!”

“Yes sir!” Jean said already flipping through papers on his desk, “Uh, Her name is Dan Wilds, 34, married to a Matthew Boyd for ten years now. They both work for the local news, he writes for the paper and she talks for the screen. I’ll send you more when I find it.”

“Get your jacket Kevin,” Riko snarled, “We’re going on a trip.”

***

Dan Wilds was a whole foot shorter than Riko but she had an attitude that made up the difference in height. She was dark skinned and proud, with very little patience for Riko’s snobbish aura. Kevin thought they had had worse witnesses, but he had been wrong.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” She said with her arms crossed, “He contacted me, not you. And I doubt you’ll find prints on the paper. Cigarette is too good for that.”

“Stop using that ridiculous name,” Riko commanded, “He is an attention seeking psychopath. Do not give him that satisfaction.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Detective,” She scoffed, “As if. You only got to this position because your uncle runs the whole police force.”

Riko snarled at her, his body moving before either Kevin or Dan could think. Despite the fact that they were in the middle of a crowded floor of a constantly buzzing with activity, Riko swung at the lead reporter like he had nothing to lose.

Dan ducked away swearing but the pain never came.

“What the Hell!” A flurry of papers fluttered to the ground, as one of the runners passing by held Riko’s whole arm just inches from hitting Dan. Kevin hadn’t even seen him come up, but there he was, just in the knick of time. He shorter than Dan, with dark hair and forgettable brown eyes. He glared up at Riko and held him back with a surprising amount of strength for someone so small.

“Who are you?” Riko jerked his arm, but the boy held firm.

“The guy who just blocked your blow from hitting an unarmed woman for dissing you,” he shot back, “Dan, are you alright?”

“I didn’t need your help,” She grumbled.

He snorted, “I can see that.” He let go of Riko, without dropping his glare, “Man, if this is how you react to every time someone insults you, I’m surprised you haven’t been arrested yourself, Riko Moriyama.”

“What’s your name?” Kevin said meekly. He hadn’t seen Riko this mad in a long time, but that was because everyone at the office had learned not to bring up the blatant nepotism. His notepad was bent in his hand, his shorthand notes mostly ruined, but he was more worried about how Riko was going to respond.

“Neil. Josten.” He said without even glancing in Kevin’s direction, “I run tasks for writers, like getting coffee, moving papers between departments, and delivering mail to the writers while their busy. Which speaking of…” He pulled an envelope from his inside pocket, and made a show of handing it to Dan, “You got mail, and considering the last letter you got addressed like this, I thought it was best if no one else saw it before I handed it to you.”

Something flickered in Dan’s eyes as she looked down at the standard white envelope. Just from the handwriting it seemed pretty obvious it was written by someone with a lot of time, with a black pen and addressed to Dan with just her name. Kevin inhaled sharply at the sight of it.

“Who gave it?” She asked.

“Dunno,” Neil shrugged, “Matt insisted on taking me to lunch and when I came back there it was on the top of the pile of mail for me to give out.”

Dan nodded like she expected it and flipped it over to open it.

“You can’t do that!” Riko yelled.

“It’s my mail!”

“It’s evidence in an open investigation!”

“I haven’t even opened it yet!” Dan argued holding it away from him, “It could be anything.”

Actually it was pretty clear what it was. Kevin was holding a letter flattened in an evidence bag that was a near match to the hand writing there. Kevin only moved it when Neil’s eyes had been resting on it for several seconds too long.

“I demand that you hand it over--”

“Riko,” Kevin said, quietly, “We have to let her open it. We can impede mail unless we know it’s going to dangerous.”

Riko looked like he was likely to murder him right there in the middle of the room. Kevin didn’t meet his eyes, because he knew Riko saw it as a betrayal and not as Kevin trying to follow at least one law. Neil watched them both cautiously, with his shoulders tense and ready to protect Dan if Riko lashed out again. Dan’s lips twitched in slight victory.

She used her fingernail to rip through the tab.

“To the Reporter who ran the my story, I now have a second bit to tell you. I’ll suggest you run this one too. I have challenged the Monster to a battle of wits. One body per week, until one of us is caught or one of us gets bored. Tell your viewers not to fret, though. We promise to only go after the real badies in the state, and should we break that promise the next body you’ll find is one of ours.

“Victory goes to the last man standing. Cigarette.”

Dan looked up at the officers, suddenly looking a lot more worried than before. “He thinks this is a game?”

Neil faded back looking like he was going to be sick. “That’s messed up. That’s so messed up.”

Riko snatched the paper from Dan’s hands, “This is why you should follow directions when I give them.” He analyzed the letter for himself, as if he expected that Dan had made up the entire thing herself. “Don’t run this story.”

“What? We have to warn the public!”

“That’s what he wants,” Kevin said, “He wants attention, fear, panic. If you let him have that, you’ll be playing right into his hands.” He glanced between Dan and Neil, “You cannot tell anyone about this.”

A buzzing sound went off, barely heard over the rumbled of the other workers. Riko picked through his pockets and pulled out a phone. He glared at the caller ID and then unlocked it. “Jean, what?”

He listened for a full minute before hanging up without a goodbye. He turned to Kevin and motioned for him to follow. “There’s another body.”

Kevin didn’t relax all the way out of the building, but Riko didn’t seem to notice at all. He flung open the doors to the Newspaper violently enough to almost kill one of the workers coming in. He knew Neil Josten’s eyes were watching them the entire way out.

***

FoxTails  
[Why]

DoctorDoctor  
[I want to see who the better artist is]

FoxTails  
[I’m not doing this for fun]

DoctorDoctor  
[Neither am I]

***

“Allison Reynolds, 33.” Jean said standing over the body in the middle of the parking lot of the hospital. “Knife wounds and cauterization matches with Cigarette’s M.O.”

“He didn’t burn this one,” Kevin said.

“Don’t be so sure.” Jean crouched by the body and used a gloved hand to cautiously open the cadaver's mouth. “He burned off her tongue completely.”

“What does that mean?” Kevin mused, “She said something that pissed off this unsub?”

Jean snorted, “Reynolds was a lawyer. Everything she said pissed someone off.”

“What does she have to do with Walker and Gordon?” Kevin asked. He stared out around the crime scene, “Why this location? It’s almost like a mockery. He brought her to the hospital but made sure she couldn’t be helped-- who is that?”

Jean followed his gaze between the officers casing the rest of the scene and taking plate numbers. It didn’t take him too long to figure out who Kevin met. Riko was hard to miss in his proud, almost offensive suit and slicked back hair. Compared to him the character next to him was a midget, blond with a visible scar running down his cheek. He was smoking a cigarette, which the sight of it nearly made Kevin shudder.

“Aaron Minyard,” Jean said, “He’s the one that found the body. Came out for a smoke and she was just lying here next to his car.”

Kevin glanced at the car parked next to the body. It was a nice car, and Kevin who drove an undercover cop car from the station, was easily impressed. It couldn’t have been cheap. Aaron Minyard must get paid well, far better than a cop with a badge.

Riko sneered as he said something that was lost in the other conversation and the distance. Aaron looked wholly unimpressed by him and merely flicked his cigarette to dislodge some ash at their feet.

“He doesn’t look bothered by the sight of a dead body,” Kevin noted.

“He works in the ER,” Jean explained, “said a lot of people get in his building just to die.”

Kevin flipped his notebook shut and nodded to Jean. He slipped by the officers setting up the caution tape and approached his partner and the witness with ease. He pulled out his badge and flashed it at Aaron as he neared.

“Aaron Minyard?” He repeated, “Kevin Day. Is it alright if I ask some questions?”

“Sure!” He said with faux enthusiasm, “Waste my time even more than Detective Dumbass here.”

Kevin winced, watching Riko’s face darken. His eyes narrowed like he was wondering how many bullets he might be able to put in Aaron before the rest of the force got to him. Kevin knew better than anyone that when Riko finally got his tantrum out it wouldn’t be pretty for him or Jean.

Riko wasn’t a bad detective, but sometimes Kevin wondered if he should be the head of the case instead.

“Mr. Minyard-”

“Doctor.”

“Pardon?”

“I did not sit through sixteen years of medical school for a degree no one is going to recognize.” He flicked his cigarette again, sending ash to their feet.

“Of course,” Kevin said, “Dr. Minyard, did you see anyone in the vicinity this morning? Anyone suspicious?”

“Everyone is suspicious, Day,” Aaron scoffed, “be more specific.”

“I mean anyone walking about that you haven't seen before. Someone who you didn't recognize or who felt out of place.”

“Wow, you successfully categorized all the people who come to the hospital.” Aaron rolled his eyes, then made a show of checking his watch, “My breaks over. Do you mind?”

He didn’t wait for Kevin’s answer, probably already aware that he was going to insist on asking more questions. He dropped his cigarette, grounded it out with the toe of his boot, and then turned back inside with a swish of his coat.

If it hadn’t been for the dead body in the parking lot, Kevin would have thought he had a lot of nerve to do such a thing to a ranking detective. But circumstances put Kevin on edge. Aaron’s lack of manners, of professionalism, of emotions made him hard to read. Kevin had been a detective long enough to know that people like Aaron were usually hiding something.

Kevin turned to Riko, “We’re going to need a background check--”

Riko grabbed him by the chin before he could finish, and drew Kevin close. In the shadow of the Hospital the media wouldn’t get any of it, and the hospital staff was too busy handling patients to worry about them outside.

“Riko,” Kevin gasped.

His partner’s face was hard and uncaring, almost as venomous as the looks that most of the serial killers they had detained wore. Kevin shuddered at the thought. He had an unnerving realization that if Riko had chosen another route-- if he had chosen to kill instead of catching the killers-- he would have been the best at that too.

“Do not undermine me again,” Riko hissed. “You will not like the repercussions.” He dug his nails into Kevin’s chin, drawing out a pathetic wince, “Do you understand?”

Kevin tried to nod but Riko held fast.

“I said do you understand, Kevin!”

“Y-yes!” Kevin gasped, “yes I do!”

Riko sneered. He flung Kevin away with distaste, as if he was an inconvenience and not a partner. “Good. I will not be made a fool by the likes of you.” He turned away, “Come. We have work to do.”

He moved towards the crime scene without hesitation, like he knew Kevin would follow. Kevin swallowed hard, rubbing his chin where Riko had held him. He glanced towards the Hospital doors, out of habit.

Doctor Aaron Minyard was still in the lobby, talking to a nurse, but it was clear from his gaze that he was not listening to her at all. His hazel eyes were lingering over her shoulder, right at Kevin.

Right at where Riko used to be standing. His lips twitched down, but he took off further into the building, letting the nurse scramble after him.

And once he was gone, Kevin went after Riko like a dog tugged on a leash behind its owner.

***

Jean stopped by Kevin’s desk at the end of the day, just before he was about to leave. He looked wary and his gaze kept settling behind both of them to the private office Riko commanded. The door had been closed since they had gotten in, and the entire force had pretended they hadn’t heard the crashing from inside hours ago. It had been silent since.

“Do…” Jean cleared his throat and turned to French, despite the fact that they were alone in the bullpen. “Do you think the bookcase fell on him?”

“Do you think we’d be that lucky?” Kevin responded without looking up from his report. The paperwork on the victims covered his desk, as well as statements from the coroners who were still trying to put the meat puzzles of people together from the killer dubbed “the Monster”. They so far it looked like they were both guys, both in their late twenties.

There were only a few open missing cases for that age but they had been opened for years. With so little information, it was hard to say for sure either body was any of them and even if they were, why did the killer wait for so long before killing them? How did he hide them? The other option was that the victims hadn’t been reported.

Kevin had driven himself in circles trying to piece together a victimology for both serial killers. None of Cigarette’s victims had anything in common. Renee was in witness protection, Seth was a drug addict, Allison was a lawyer. They didn’t run in the same social circles, the same commerce level, they didn’t even use the same transportation methods. The only thing Kevin could say for certain is that they were roughly around the same age.

He may not be the best detective out there, but he was pretty sure there was no way that the killer was walking around, asking people their ages, and torturing them based on that alone.

There had to be a connection they weren’t seeing yet.

Jean seemed to realize he was losing Kevin again. He double tapped two fingers on his desk. “You need to sleep,” He said.

“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

“You’ll be that in a few hours.” Jean said without any humor, “I’m serious, Day.”

“There are people out there who might be next on these guys lists. It’s my job to keep those people safe, and the only way to do that is to catch these killers.”

Jean didn’t look reassured by that. He shuffled around his coat and his briefcase to hand him two more files. He put them on Kevin’s current stack but didn’t move his hand when Kevin reached for them.

“This is Aaron Minyard and Neil Josten’s files. Everything I could get Jeremy to pull for me.” Jean said, with a slight nod back to the tech room reserved for the force’s analyst as if Kevin had forgotten about him (which was almost insulting; Jeremy Knox was the brightest, happiest person Kevin had ever met.)

“I didn’t ask for Neil’s.” Kevin said.

“Riko did,” Jean didn’t elaborate, but he got them impression that the request had been more than a little violent. “He might have been right to. Neil has almost nothing.”

Kevin leaned forward, “Like he’s poor?”

“Like he deals in cash only, has no credit history, no student loans.” Jean corrected. “Jeremy searched everywhere and couldn’t even get a home address for the guy. The only record of him existing is a birth certificate and a driver's license even though he doesn’t have a car.”

Kevin squinted at the file. “No school record?”

Jean shook his head. “He’s got a high school diploma from a school in Arizona. Record said he transferred in for his last year of high school but doesn’t say from where.”

Kevin tapped his foot, in thought. He remembered the look on Neil’s face earlier, the unbridled anger at Riko for even acting like he was going to hit Dan. He had a hard time imagining the same kid had either cut apart bodies and tossed them in the woods like birdseed, or lit them on fire without a care in the world.

Neil Josten was more empathetic than that.

***

DoctorDoctor  
[you’re turn]

DoctorDoctor  
[Unless you’re admitting defeat]

FoxTails  
[Inspiration comes in bursts]

DoctorDoctor  
[Then you aren’t doing it right]

FoxTails  
[Or maybe you’re doing it wrong]

DoctorDoctor  
[I wonder if you’re this interesting in person]

***

“He certainly met the challenge,” Jean said. “Fourteen parts at least this time. That’s already one more than last time.”

“What extra part was cut?” Kevin asked, “Were the cuts the same? Or were they angrier?”

Jean grimaced in response. “He cut out the heart. I’d say he was a little angry.” He waved off a fly. “This location also suggests a bit of anger. He spread her between four dumpsters without any bags. How does someone get away with dumping that many body parts without being seen?”

“He’s been doing this for longer than we thought.” Kevin watched the crime scene analysts go through the dumpster, poking through a disgusting amount of half eaten food, discarded clothes, papers, gunk, and undesirables. Riko was micromanaging them up close, so they were both giving him as much distance as they could afford.

“Did you say “she”?”

Jean nodded, “The body was definitely female this time. He left her severed head together wrapped in plastic so we’d find it undisturbed.”

Kevin frowned. “So he doesn’t care about gender, doesn’t care about the amount of pieces, doesn’t care about the dumpsite.” The green eyes boy turned to Jean, “What does he care about?”

Jean for his part just shook his head, as the techs uncovered a hand from the garbage. The nails glinted red in the the early morning sun, but it was hard to say if that was nail polish or blood.

“Regardless, between these dumpsters, the forest, and the junkyard, I should have enough to set up a geographical profile for this Unsub.” Kevin pulled out his phone, “I’ll see if I can get Jeremy to print out the maps I need.”

Jean’s lips twitched downwards, “I guess I’ll go to the coroner’s? I’ll see if they’ve figured out how the victims were killed. I sent for a tox-screening too.”

Kevin nodded along as he pulled up Jeremy’s number. He didn’t often get a chance to talk to Jeremy (mainly because he was shared among the force as a universal resource), but Kevin never left a conversation with him feeling bad. Jeremy had something good to say about everyone.

The line rang and while Kevin waited he tapped his foot. Jean scribbled down notes on his pocket notebook, watching Riko yell at the analysts on the scene. One of the poor guys said something back to him, and Riko sneered.  
“You’ve reached the Tech-cave!” Jeremy’s voice laughed, “We’re busy right now, but give us the name and the numbers and we’ll fix your issues!”

Kevin hung up. “It’s not Jeremy’s day off is it?”

Jean shrugged, “He said last night he’d be in. Did Alvarez or Dermott pick up?”

“Neither,” Kevin dialed back. It wasn’t that big of an issue, and of course the tech center got busy, but something about it put Kevin off. Two serial killers on the loose and one of their own goes missing?

He was paranoid, maybe. Most likely. But Kevin could guess from the precision of the deaths that the killers were both organized, and meticulous about details. They would be following the investigation into them closely, maybe even inserted themselves into it.

“Jeremy I swear--!” A female picked up this time. She was shouting so loud Kevin actually had to pull the phone away from his ear.

“Lilia,” Kevin said, “What the fuck?”

“Day, oh fucking shit,” The girl scrambled for something. Kevin couldn’t even beginning to imagine what she was juggling, but by the crashing and the swearing he doubted it was nothing. “What do you want? You took Jeremey for the day, what could you possibly need from the rest of us?”

“I was actually calling looking for Jeremy,” Kevin said, “Are you saying he’s not with you?”

“He’s not with you?” Another voice joined the call. Of course Sarah Alvarez was never too far from Lilia Dermott. They could work separately but everyone knew they were twice as fast together. Add Jeremy to the team and the criminals wouldn’t be able to hide a broken nail, much less any murders.

“Why would he be with me?” Kevin flashed a look up at Jean with an unasked question. The French agent shook his head in reply. “We haven’t invited him in the case yet. I was just about to.”

“This isn’t funny Day.” Alvarez snapped, “He left a note.”

Kevin felt his stomach drop out. He tried not to panic, not to freak out. He looked up at Riko, twisting the phone away from his mouth so he could yell out. “Riko!”

The other detective sneered down at one of the analysts, but at the mention of his name Riko turned his glare on Kevin. “What?”

“You didn’t invite Jeremy into the case yet did you?” It was a long shot, because Riko had made his opinion of Jeremy clear as day. He disapproved of Jeremy’s background as a teenage hacker who had evaded Riko for years, and it was just salt in the wound when Riko finally caught up with him, the first thing the agency did was offer him a job. Riko went out of his way to ignore Jeremy, and yet Jeremy never had a bad thing to say about him.

(He had told Jean and Kevin to avoid him too, but neither of them had complied. They still asked Jeremy for help, and they kept it quiet when Riko was around. Jeremy played along with the game, never seeming to be jealous at all).

“Why would I invite that trash into my investigation?” Riko snarled.

Kevin and Jean shared a look, “Lilia, Sarah, don’t touch anything.” Kevin hung up before they could respond, and turned from the crime scene. Jean was just a step behind him.

“I’ll check his apartment.” Jean called.

“Office,” Kevin agreed. He prayed to the gods he didn’t believe in that this was Jeremy doing something dumb, like skipping work to go hang out with a couple of hacker friends or playing hookie or something that was just a misunderstanding.

Somehow he didn’t think he’d be that lucky.

***

Lilia was in a varying stage of panic when Kevin showed up. She was lanky, blond, and unique. As part of her personality she always had a theme for her outfit. Today it appeared to be frogs, from the plastic one glued to her headband, the pin on her shoulder, and the pattern on her skirt. Her eyes were already red from holding back tears. She kept picking at her nails, Kevin noticed, as a worried tick of hers.

Sarah was better, or at least a bit more controlled about it. She was dressed down in black, that matched her dark hair and dark eyes. Where Lilia outwardly overwhelming, Alvarez showed her off in the jokes that she made. She had glasses, but she wasn’t wearing them.

The two of them and Jeremy all shared a back room in the police station, with a million and one computer screens. They had a system which rotated out who had what computers on what days and varied by the cases they were working on. When they needed help they had each other. It was no surprise that with one of them missing the other two were knocked off balance too.

“We...we usually leave notes when we aren’t going to be in.” Lilia said, “I didn’t even think twice about it! What if he’s hurt? Dead?!”

“He’s not dead.” Alvarez stated like it was a fact. Kevin had to admire her confidence, but the poisonous part inside of him whispered that they didn’t know how long either serial killers kept their victims. Even if Jeremy had been kidnapped his morning there was no guarantee that the killer was keeping him alive.

Sometimes Kevin really hated himself.

“Where did he leave it?” Kevin asked.

Lilia sniffled but both she and Alvarez pointed to a bulletin board near the doorway to their “tech-cave”. There was a black pen attached to it and a clip of sticky notes for easy reach. Several were pick up emotional notes in Jeremy’s handwriting, with small smiley faces to prove it. Kevin scanned over them, it seemed that Lilia put hearts on her ‘i’’s like this was still middle school, and Alvarez wrote solely in cursive that hooked her ‘y’’s in an elegant fashion.

The note left by Jeremy by all accounts looked like his handwriting. He used the black pen attached to the board and one of the sticky notes right there. He wrote like he was late for an appointment, but that was the same as Jeremy being excited. He even put a smiley face on it too.

Kevin unpinned it with gloved hands, comparing the handwriting still. He dropped the pin in the tray underneath the board with barely a thought. Alvarez made a noise and she stood up from her swivel chair violently.

“Something wrong?” Kevin asked.

“We have a system,” she grounded out, “It’s color coordinated!”

Kevin glanced back at the tray unimpressed. There were only three colors but she wasn’t lying. They were organized and separated deliberately. The green pin from Jeremy’s note was sitting in the pile of white thumbtacks. Kevin glanced back up at the tacks.

“Do you have assigned colors?” He asked.

Lilia shrugged miserably, “No. I just don’t like the white pins so Jeremy got me other colors.” She hugged herself.

Kevin had no trouble believing that. “What’s Jeremy’s favorite color?”

“Blue?” Alvarez hesitated, “I think. See, he always pins his with the blue---Oh my god.”

Kevin held up the green tack that had been holding up Jeremy’s note. Lilia covered her mouth in a terrible attempt to swallow her horrified gasp.

“Check the cameras,” Kevin said, “Check your computers. If this guy had Jeremy’s access card he could have gotten in here and planted something. Find it.”

Kevin turned to leave, but Alvarez grabbed his arm before he could get out the door. “Day,” She said, biting her lip, “We’re going to find him, right?”

“Yes.” Kevin knew they would find Jeremy. The question was would they find him alive or would they be too late?


	2. Beware the Witness

FoxTails

[I need your help]

 

DoctorDoctor

[interesting. And unlike you]

 

DoctorDoctor

[what did you do]

 

FoxTails

[I’m not typing it out. Meet me]

 

DoctorDoctor

[I don’t do face to face.]

 

FoxTails

[You pick the place and the time]

 

DoctorDoctor

[. . .]

 

DoctorDoctor

[one hour. Cafe on sixth st]

 

FoxTails

[How will I know who you are]

 

DoctorDoctor

[It will be very obvious who I am]

 

***

Kevin fell asleep waiting for Linguistics to finish with the note that had been pinned to the board in the Tech-cave. He hadn’t meant to-- he never meant to-- but the sleepless past two days caught up to him when he sat down on the couch in the hall to wait with the summary report of the cases.

 

“Kevin.”

 

The simple sound of his name had Kevin jerking upright, and the remembrances of his dream (whatever it had been) dissolved into the air. The area was blurry for a moment when he tried to orientate himself, and wiping an embarrassing bit of drool off the corner of his mouth.

 

Then his blood ran cold. “Riko,” He said, hastily standing up. “I--”

 

“Are you trying to make me look incompetent?” Riko was just barely taller than Kevin to start with, but Kevin found himself shrinking in his presence.

 

“What? No! Never-- I--”

 

“Just what exactly are you doing then?” Riko snarled, “We have a case! I’ve been looking for you for an hour! Then I hear that you’re down here napping on the job?”

 

Kevin swallowed the anger in his stomach, “I was waiting for a linguistics report back, Riko. It was an accident.”

 

His lips twisted unkindly, “A linguistics report? On what! We already got what we needed from the letters--”

 

“The note the person who took Jeremy left.” Kevin said, “It’s the fastest way we have to find him-”

 

Riko threw up a hand effectively stopping him in the middle of his sentence. Kevin flinched away from the motion, waiting a pain that didn’t come. Riko seemed to relish in it for a second, but as soon as the look came it was gone from his face and he acted like it hadn’t been there at all.

 

“Jeremy is of no concern to us.” He said, “Our case is the murders.”

 

“But--”

 

“Show me proof that that computer virus of a human is linked to our investigation!” Riko waved his hands at the world around them, “I’m waiting!”

 

“He was helping us--”

 

“A coincidence.” Riko snarled, “Jeremy unfortunately has access to lots of cases. He is not our concern anymore, unless his body shows up next. In that case your priority should be in finding these killers and not in sleeping on couches.”

 

Despite the fact that they were alone in the hall, Kevin felt his cheeks heat. It wasn’t like he wasn’t trying to catch the killers! He had fallen asleep retracing their facts so they could present a portfolio to the public. Riko scowled down at him, his ruthless gaze unforgiving. Riko had always told him he had no use for weakness. He made it very clear when they were kids that Riko was better than them.

 

That he would cut himself away from them if he thought they were dragging him down.

 

And now Kevin was certain that he had invested to much in this career to have Riko cut him out of the picture.

 

So he swallowed and looked down, “Sorry, Riko. It won’t happen again.”

 

And he tried to pretend like every word didn’t feel like a gunshot through his chest. Like Jeremy wasn’t somewhere out there possibly dead, and that it might be his fault.

***

 

“Where are we going?” Kevin hadn’t dared asked in the car, but now they were on the sidewalk with Riko’s expensive black cruiser parked over the lines of a parking space because they were officers and that meant the rules bent around them. Kevin had learned long ago not to argue with him over it; Riko had checked him into a brick wall the last time.

 

“We’re dropping in on Aaron Minyard,” Riko replied like it was obvious, “He asked to meet us specifically. Said he remembered something about Allison Reynolds.” Riko preened proudly.

 

Kevin frowned at that, but he knew better than to comment. It had only been a few days since they had found the lawyer in the hospital parking lot, but time often deteriorated memory. Anything he saw could be a lead, but it could also be something he made up on accident.

 

Or on purpose, Kevin relented. With what he knew about him, Kevin had no problem about Aaron making up stuff just to annoy Riko (regardless of the fact it was illegal to lie about that type of thing).

 

“Did you read the report on him?” Riko asked.

 

“You mean the one Jeremy put together right before he went missing?” Kevin asked, then backtracked when Riko shot him a glare.

 

“He probably snuck out to be with his sewer rat friends for the day.” Riko snapped, “He hasn’t even been gone for a day.”

 

“He wouldn’t--”

 

“He is unprofessional and undeserving of his job, Kevin.” Riko inserted himself over Kevin, “You distracted Jean with this nonsense too and I’m tired of it. He went all over Jeremy’s apartment when he could have been making that geological profile on our serial killers.”

 

Kevin wanted to argue that Jeremy was so above that, that he had more pride in his job than Riko and Kevin combined, that Jeremy had more to lose than any of them if he lost this job (not that Kevin would know exactly, but it felt like that when he was around the ever-smiling Jeremy Knox).

 

“Tell me what you know about Aaron Minyard,” Riko commanded to officially prove that he was right and Kevin was wrong.

 

And despite everything wrong with it, Kevin answered. “He was born on November fourth with a twin brother Andrew Minyard, to a Tilda Minyard, no birth father stated. But a few days after the birth Tilda put Andrew into the foster seem and kept Aaron. Good grades, no problems, one report of possible abuse but it was retracted. At age thirteen Aaron and Andrew were reunited and they lived under the care of Tilda for about seven months. Then there was a bad car crash caused by drunk driving and faulty brakes. Aaron was the only survivor.

 

“There’s a series of psychiatrists bills that follow that, and his cousin Nicky Hemmick took him in. They stayed in Columbia for five years, before moving to Palmetto for college. He graduated early with a degree in medical science there and then studied abroad in Germany, where he studied to receive his surgical degree in half the usual time and came back to South Carolina to practice. He lives a few blocks from the hospital now in an apartment by himself. His cousin Nicky owns a cafe and is a youth fiction author now if I remember correct.”

 

Riko nodded along. He flicked his hand towards the cafe they were approaching on foot. It was far from unassuming and plain with flickering fairy lights around the orange overhangs Two tea tables were set up outside with bright orange umbrellas. The sign beckoned customers to the unique place, with elegant handcrafted letters spelling out “The Foxhole”. Kevin could guess it was after the college cities mascot, a fox. The sign was flipped to open as they walked in.

 

Inside it was still horrendously orange: the counters, tables, half of the walls. But the floor was tiles with speckled tan that matched the other have of the walls. There were tables on one half, but also a carpeted area with bean bags, a coffee table and a several bookshelves that proclaimed themselves to be part of a community library. The counter had two registers, a pastry display case with fresh baked foods, and plenty of coffee pots, bean grinders, espresso machines, syrup racks, and a blender.

 

Once Kevin got past the terrible color, he thought it might be a nice place to spend a few hours between cases. He glanced around area, and despite the people it was cozy and pretty quiet. Aaron Minyard wasn’t hard to find at all.

 

He was alone at a table for two near a bookshelf, his back to the door, and a book in his hand. It must have been his day off, because he was dressed in jeans and a black T shirt with grey long sleeves underneath.

 

An employee appeared behind the counter, a timid girl with wide brown eyes, who looked terrified of them, despite the fact that Kevin was still in yesterday’s wrinkled suit, obviously exhausted.

 

“C-can I help you?” She all but squeaked.

 

Riko didn’t even look at her. He stood at his full height, which Kevin knew was intimidating even when he wasn’t dressed to the nines and scowling like he was looking to arrest everyone. He had an aura of power about him that attached attention to him from the customers in the store.

 

Aaron, though, seemed to be immune to it. He made a point to keep reading even when Riko stood right at the edge of his table.

 

“Aaron Minyard--” Riko started.

 

He held up a hand to stop the detective. His eyes skimmed through the page and he successfully flipped a page before Riko realized that Aaron was not stopping. His lips curled into something foul.

 

Kevin slid up to the counter, careful to keep an eye on Riko, “Coffee, please.”

 

“D-Do you want any-anything in it?” The girl stuttered, “Sir.”

 

“Vodka?” He asked.

 

There was a snort from behind the counter. Even Kevin with his height had missed the sight of the second employee making some drink that looked like a liquified heart attack. He wasn’t as short as Aaron, or as pale skinned, or as dark and gloomy. In fact, if it wasn’t for the report he had gotten on Aaron, Kevin wasn’t sure he would have recognized Nicky Hemmick as a family member.

 

He was grinning, happy, and dark skinned. His curly black hair was held back with a rainbow bandana, and despite the fact he was making a coffee, he wasn’t wearing a uniform like the barista was. He waved an empty coffee carafe at Kevin, before putting it under a grinding basket and pressing whatever start button was needed to start the brewing process.

 

“I feel that, buddy,” Nicky agreed, “But as a lawful citizen I’m not allowed to give on-duty police alcohol.”

 

Kevin wasn’t even wearing his badge, but he wasn’t surprised. Even if Aaron hadn’t told him he was going to have a police meet up in his shop, Kevin guessed that Nicky wasn’t so blind that he wouldn’t recognize Riko or possibly Kevin from the newspaper.

 

“I can however add sprinkles if you want.” Nicky laughed, “They’re gay. Like me.”

 

“I’m good,” Kevin said, “Just black.”

 

Nicky groaned, “Why are all the hot ones straight?”

 

“Uh, sir?” The barista mumbled, “You’re married.”

 

Nicky waved her off, with a sigh. He placed Kevin’s coffee in front of him, along with whatever liquid death drink he had been making earlier. It smelled so sweet, Kevin was sure his eyes were going to start watering.

 

“No charge, Detective Day.” Nicky declared, “Do me a favor and bring Aaron his. I can’t stand to be near that abomination but he refused to drink anything else. It’s the only sweet thing about him.”

 

Kevin wasn’t about to deny that. He thanked Nicky haggardly and turned back to the spectacle that was Riko and Aaron. Riko made the mistake of taking Aaron’s book from his hands and throwing it on a nearby bean bag. Aaron looked like he was actually going to kill Riko in that moment-- like he had all the savageousness needed to be one of the serial killers stalking the town.

 

“Dr Minyard,” Kevin said professionally, which came out more worried than he intended. Possibly because it meant drawing attention away Riko, possibly because it meant Aaron was turning all that hatred at Kevin, possibly because Kevin was more nerves and worry than he was human at that point in time.

 

Like a switch was flipped all the anger in Aaron’s expression disappeared. “Day.”

 

Kevin offered him the coffee. Aaron’s nose twitched, his face slimming to something that was almost nearly a set up for a smile. He shifted so that he was facing Kevin rather than Riko and motioned for Kevin to sit at the nearby table.

 

Kevin hesitated, because Riko was glaring at him, commanding him not to. Because Riko would not allow him to be undermined again, not allow Aaron to brush him off so easily. Riko was the star, the best. Compared to him Kevin would always fall short.

 

“Do not keep me waiting.” Aaron said without looking up from his coffee.

 

Kevin sat in the chair.

 

This time he was sure Aaron’s lips flickered upwards Pleased for a second before the apathy reset. “So you do have a brain of your own. You might just solve the murders after all.”

 

“How dare you--”

 

Aaron ignored Riko’s outburst. He threw an arm up on the back of the chair and lazily rested his cheek on it while he swirled his coffee. His hazel eyes bore into Kevin, like he was searching for something specific. Kevin thought he gladly give it, if he just knew what it was. Aaron seemed to have some type of fascination with creating chaos.

 

“I understand that you had something to tell us, Doctor,” Kevin said after a moment, “About Allison Reynolds.”

 

He raised an eyebrow, “Did I now?” Which Kevin was sure he did purely to see if he could get a rise out of Riko, and rise Riko did.

 

He stood up with hands on either side of the short table, “You will answer our questions, Minyard. Tell us what you know, or I will arrest you on charges of obstructing a Police investigation.”

 

“Oh really?” Aaron said without even looking at the detective, “But there are so many other things to catch me on. Such as the assault of a police officer, if you do not sit back down  and remove your hands, Riko Moriyama. Didn’t anyone ever tell you it was rude to bud into other people’s conversations?”

 

“You son of a bit--”

 

“Wow, Day,” Aaron said, “I didn’t know you had a dog that barked on command. Does it ever shut the fuck up?”

 

Kevin vaguely remembered a time so very long ago, when they had all been in school and this brainless prick of a kid one year older than Riko, Kevin, and Jean, had stopped them in the hall and requested History help from Kevin. At the time Kevin had been smug, proud even, that someone thought he’d be able to help them better than anyone else.

 

Afterwards, Riko had choked him so hard, hiding the bruises had required him to wear a scarf for a week. Because someone had suggested that Kevin was better, that Kevin could help more.

 

Kevin couldn’t beginning to think of what Riko would do because of this offront. It was possible that Kevin would show up missing tomorrow and his body found spread across a forest or something, and only Riko would know who he had been.

 

“Dr. Minyard,” Kevin wished his voice didn’t sound so strained, “I have two open serial killer cases, six victims with a possible seventh, and a note foreshadowing another death very soon. I’m short on time as I am. If you have information on Allison Reynolds, I’ll gladly take it and we’ll leave you to finish your book.”

 

Aaron thought about it, swirled his coffee, and then his piercing hazel eyes searched through Kevin for a second. “Answer me this first, Detective Day. What do you plan to do when you find the killers?”

 

Kevin didn’t have to even think about it, “Arrest them.” Because that was his job: find the killers, find the evidence, arrest them, and protect the public. Aaron raised an eyebrow at him, almost surprised, almost with disbelief.

 

“What about you, Riko?” Aaron asked, “What are you going to do to the killers when you find them?”

 

“This is a waste of our time.” Riko flung himself from the seat, his face red with anger and humiliation. Kevin thought privately he looked a bit like a kid throwing a tantrum. “Come on, Kevin.”

 

He motioned for Kevin to follow him back out the doors. Aaron leaned back in his seat taking another sip of his coffee.

 

Kevin didn’t move. “You’re evading, Riko,” He said.

 

Riko stopped walking and turned violently towards him. His dark eyes were beady, and his lips twisted into a snake-like sneer. For a second, Kevin saw the face of every bad guy they had caught and locked up. Riko’s fingers pinched the gun on his hip.

 

Kevin was sure they were just as good shots, but there was no doubt that Riko could and would draw faster than Kevin every time.

 

“I would arrest them,” Riko said, but it sounded like a lie for _I would shoot them like I’m going to shoot you and make it look like an accident._

 

For once Aaron seemed to pick up on the threat, his gaze narrowed, but he turned his back on Riko anyway. He met Kevin’s with a determined sort of look, a chaotically pleased look.

 

“Here’s what you should know, Detective.” Aaron said, and then sent Kevin reeling with the name he picked out, “Seth Gordon had a serious drug problem. He was in an out of the Emergency Room all the time, and while I could, I’m not the doctor who pumps his poisons from his stomach, which isn’t cheap. I happened to be in the front area on break once when Allison Reynolds came in cursing up a storm, demanding to pay for Seth’s stupid mistakes.” He paused, “She called herself his girlfriend.”

 

“How long ago was this?”

 

“A year,” Aaron didn’t miss a beat. “Since then he had been in another three times, for overdose or alcohol poisoning. She paid for those too.”

 

Kevin dug his fingers into his coffee cup, “How do you know this?”

 

Aaron grinned like a shark, “I couldn’t forget Reynolds even if I tried. We’re done here.” He turned away without waiting a beat, but Kevin hardly noticed. Seth Gordon? Allison Reynolds? They had been connected after all?

 

A couple, however seemingly terrible, had been murdered by the same killer. They should have known that though with the report on Seth and Allison’s bodies. Why hadn’t they picked up on the relationship beforehand? And how did Renee Walker fit into it.

 

It wasn’t the best lead Kevin had ever been handed, but it was something.

 

His grin was fading by the time he met Riko’s face. It was barely concealed fury.

 

“Thank you, Dr. Minyard,” Kevin said, standing up. Aaron didn’t appear to have heard him at all.

 

“Have a good day!” Nicky called out happily as they pushed to the doors. But before Riko could fling it open and possibly, probably, break it, it was opened from the outside by a familiar face.

 

“Josten,” Riko said.

 

The reporter looked up at him lazily. Kevin expected him to let the door close in their faces, but he just swept a hand through the air to waved them out gracefully. Riko planted his feet.

 

“What are you doing here?” He demanded.

 

Neil for his part scowled. Where Aaron was pointedly blank, Neil was just angry. Kevin doubted this was going to improve Riko’s mood at all. “What does it look like I’m doing?” He said irritably, “Getting coffee. Unless the sign was wrong and this is actually the shitty cops convention center.”

 

Riko’s gun was drawn in a second, and pressed to Neil’s temple in the next. The air seemed to be sucked out of the shop. The customers froze, even Nicky, who had been halfway over the counter at the prospect of a fight. He stopped short at the sight of Riko’s gun, at the murderous look on Riko’s face.

 

Kevin thought that several people were trying to call the police, debating calling the police. What would the police do against one of their own? Could they do anything? In a terrifying moment Kevin realized that they truly didn’t know-- that he truly didn’t know. At the worse, Riko would get a slap on the wrist, maybe a suspension, but he had too many connections to lose his job.

 

“Riko,” Kevin said, “lower the gun.”

 

Neil swallowed, moving the bulb of the gun, but he didn’t seem too worried about it. Just angry. Just mad.

 

“Riko,” Kevin said again, “We have a lead. This is not the time.”

 

Later there would be time for a tantrum, time for breaking and cursing and blood. Kevin had no doubt that Jean and him would bare the brunt of it. Maybe that was what made it so important to him: because he had sworn to protect the public, even if it meant protecting them from Riko.

 

Not that he should have needed to do that.

 

Riko pushed Neil back violently, and put his gun away. “Kevin, come.” He said once in a tone so icy Kevin wasn’t sure if the chills were real or just part of his mind.

 

They left the store, left Neil holding his neck with a glare, left Aaron and his too-sweet coffee who spent the whole drama starring determinedly at the far wall as if there was nothing interesting to him at all.

 

***

Jean was brought to the hospital for emergency care that night. Kevin fell asleep in the waiting room and they didn’t wake him until two the next morning when Aaron walked in for his shift, kicked Kevin’s shoe, and told him there was a cab waiting to take him home. He didn’t ask what happened or why Kevin’s lip was split, and Kevin thought he might have been grateful.

 

***

Lilia and Alvarez went together to file the missing persons report on Jeremy at eight.

 

***

Riko stayed in his office the whole day with standing instructions not to bother him until they had something on the lead Aaron offered.

***

Facial scans on the dead woman from the dumpsters turned up empty. As did the dismembered men.

 

***

Kevin felt like the whole world was waiting on edge for something to happen. But there was a lull in activity.

 

No one else went missing. No one else died.

 

Kevin shouldn’t have hoped that it might have been over, that Cigarette had been bored, or the Monster had decided it wasn’t worth it, that they both left town to prey somewhere else, that there was nothing left to fear.

 

Because four days after the last body was found, three days after Riko threw himself back into the investigation with full force, and two days after Jean had been let out of the hospital and back on the job, a body turned up on the road side.

 

Kevin shouldn't have been so optimistic because three days after Lilia and Alvarez posted his missing report, they both got calls that Jeremy Knox had been found.


End file.
